P500 P500 Aluminum bed build

[Bastardchild]

KYhillbilly, thanks for the compliments man! I do better welding steel, when i weld aluminum with that spoolgun one time it will look like a pro shop did it, the next time it will look like Ray Charles welded it at midnight in a thunderstorm! Lol That bed you got for $80 looks like it was made for the p500. Id say that was money well spent. I hope the exhaust works out like i plan, if not, i'll just turn it into a second snorkel. Ive been busy rebuilding the front of a 4wd dodge the last couple days but tomorrow im putting new axles on the front of my wifes p700, and doing some finish welds on my aluminum bed so ill update tomorrow. Thanks for the pics. Looks good!

 

[KYhillbilly]

looking forward to seeing what you get worked out. If you can get it done I bet it will be so quiet it you will be barely hear it running. For $80 I couldn't pass it up especially since I am not a welder. I am engineer and I can picture it in my head and put it on paper but if I cant make it with a sawzall and a cordless drill then it doesn't get done.

 

[Bastardchild]

Get you a little flux core wire welder and a auto darkening helmut. Practice on some scrap steel. It wont take long and youll have it figured out. It will open up doors for you. The next shop tool i want is a tubing bender. Thats when i'll really start making cool stuff. I have visions of extended arched a-arms dancing in my head right now! Lol

 

[Bastardchild]

Ok i didnt even get to mess with my p500 this past weekend. I had a 4 day weekend and worked on the front of my 4wd for 2 days and on my wifes p700 most of the 3rd day. I was a couch potatoe the 4th day lol. But i have a small update: I decided on the color of the bed. Roll on truck bedliner for the bed, and gloss black high heat bbq grill paint for the stacks. I aint got the high heat paint yet, or the stuff to etch the aluminum with yet before i roll the liner on or paint it. I gotta do a weld job for a friend saturday, so i wont be able to get to the aluminum bed until sunday, but i'll post pics. Take it easy!

 

[Bastardchild]

Ok i got to mess with the aluminum bed today. First off i wanna say that ive got no clue what im doing, im just googling stuff about painting aluminum and rolling with whatever comes up the most. That being said, i chose the white vinegar method of etching the aluminum, and also the self etching primer. But before i did either one of those steps i put a flap wheel on my angle grinder and cleaned up both stacks and the whole outside of the bed. By the time i got to where i would flap wheel the inside of the bed , i was so tired of listening to the grinder i said screw it. I just scuffed the inside of the bed with a rough sanding pad and mixed the white vinegar all over everything while i was sanding it. I used 2 bottles and cleaned everything with vinegar, rinsed it all with water, and blew it all dry with my leaf blower lol. Then i sprayed the self etching primer on the stacks for a couple coats and a thin layer on the bed. I actually ran out of the self etching primer on the inside of the bed, i said screw it again, i washed it with vinegar earlier, hopefully the people on the internet new what they were talking about lol. So i got high temp gloss black paint also and sprayed the passenger side stack, because i could remove it. I hung it from the shop overhead and did all the spraying on the one stack. The drivers side stack is welded on so i just self etched it along with the bed. Then i got the bedliner stuff out. I also bought the little installation kit that comes with a little baby paint roller, a paint brush, and a roller pan to put the bedliner in. The stuff went on great! I only used half a can and i probably did 3 coats overall. It could be my mind playing with me, but rolling it on gave me the feeling that it was really gonna stick. Maybe if it was spray on liner i wouldnt have felt that way, i dont know. Anyway, i left it on a table under the carport tonight, and in the morning im gonna tape and mask off the bed leaving only the one stack exposed and paint the stack high heat gloss black like the other one. When it dries, im bolting it back on and calling it a day. I'll post pics. Anyway, i know ive rambled on so heres some pics. I hope you like! Oh yeah, Mr. Piggies helped me.

 

[Bastardchild]

Update on aluminum bed build. Its done except for the plumbing from the airbox to the drivers side stack, ive still got the 2.5" shop vac hose from the airbox to the bottom of the stack, but i'll be replacing that with black pvc and elbows and stuff when i get a chance. I'll also be attenpting to run the exhaust to the passenger stack pretty soon. I'll post pics when i do. It can be rode now though how it is. It turned out pretty good i guess. Most importantly, i can reach the adult beverages from the drivers seat when we are trail riding or muddin. Lol Anyway, heres a few pics. I hope yall like!

 

[DaddyDubbs]

When you run exhaust to passenger stack, are you going to run through a muffler or just go with open exhaust?

 

[Bastardchild]

Daddydubbs, im actually thinking of just welding on a short coupling on the end of the stock exhaust muffler and 90ing it around and up under the fender and make the correct bends to get it to the bottom of the stack. Weld the coupling on and then from the coupling have the exhaust tubing slide over the coupling and clamp on with a u-clamp/bolt thing that you see on exhaust systems on cars. But the muffler end has to be steel, and the stack end needs to be aluminum, somewhere in the middle im gonna have to join the two different metal. Maybe with a high heat silicon coupling? Like on turbos. Ive not got it worked out yet.

 

[Bastardchild]

Well its been a while since i updated this. I had a sticker made for the back of my cooler a few days ago. I got out here on my day off and put the sticker on my cooler and actually started taking measurments and cutting pipe to connect my muffler to the exhaust stack when the ups truck pulled up in the yard. He had a kinetic snatch rope that i ordered from amazon 2 days ago. I wasnt expecting it for another week! Thats perfect because we're going camping at hogwaller in palatka, fl. next weekend, the 17th, 18th, and 19th of feb. Yall know i ordered it to match! Red and black, lol! Its 7/8" × 30' and rated at 28,600 lbs. I think it should do. Hehe. Sooooo, i think i might lay off on the muffler stack build and start on the snatch rope holder thingy that goes in the bed build! Lol Heres a few pics for yall.

 

[Montecresto]

Update on aluminum bed build. Its done except for the plumbing from the airbox to the drivers side stack, ive still got the 2.5" shop vac hose from the airbox to the bottom of the stack, but i'll be replacing that with black pvc and elbows and stuff when i get a chance. I'll also be attenpting to run the exhaust to the passenger stack pretty soon. I'll post pics when i do. It can be rode now though how it is. It turned out pretty good i guess. Most importantly, i can reach the adult beverages from the drivers seat when we are trail riding or muddin. Lol Anyway, heres a few pics. I hope yall like!

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You're doing a heck of job on that BC. what did you use for the liner? Black PVC or ABS?

 

[Bastardchild]

Thanks monte! I used a small can of rustoleum from the auto parts store for like $24.00 and i got the application kit for like $12.00 that comes with the paint brush, roller, and pan. Washed everything and etched it with white vinegar and sprayed it with etching primer. Did the bed in the bed liner, and the stacks with high heat bbq grill gloss black. On another note: the mail lady just dropped off another thing ive been waiting on, red shackles! Lol

 

[trigger]

Thanks monte! I used a small can of rustoleum from the auto parts store for like $24.00 and i got the application kit for like $12.00 that comes with the paint brush, roller, and pan. Washed everything and etched it with white vinegar and sprayed it with etching primer. Did the bed in the bed liner, and the stacks with high heat bbq grill gloss black. On another note: the mail lady just dropped off another thing ive been waiting on, red shackles! Lol

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You're turning that thing into a beast...nice job BC!
P.S. Sorry if I don't remember but have you given that machine a name yet?
Just holler if you need ideas.

 

[Bastardchild]

Trigger, i think i have settled on 'Gettin' Tipsy' for the name. My plan is to build an aluminum roof and wrap the roof overhang down the front of the rollbars like a sunblock and plasma cut Gettin' Tipsy in the overhang with the plasma cutter, then do the roof in black bedliner. Then i want to get a piece of red tinted plexiglass and put it behind the plasma cut letters and add a red l.e.d. light strip shining into the side of the plexiglass to make the plexiglass light up at night. During the day you would be able to read it simply because the contrast between the red plexi against the black bedliner. Thats actually the part of the build im dying to do the most, but i want to get the bed exhaust done first before i move on and start a P500 roof build thread lol. Anyway, heres a few pics of my snatch rope holder in the bed thingy. Lol I pulled a few aluminum brackets out of the dumpster at work this week and i just carved a few up and bent them to be mounted in the bed. No welding needed. Thats nice for once. Im just slipping them under the rear bolt heads that hold the bed on. This is just a mock up, theyre gonna be painted black. And if i dont like them, i can unbolt them and toss them. Heres a few pics.

 

[Bastardchild]

Now i just gotta let the paint dry. Maybe ill jump back on the exhaust stack build and mount these later today after they dry.

 

[Montecresto]

Thanks monte! I used a small can of rustoleum from the auto parts store for like $24.00 and i got the application kit for like $12.00 that comes with the paint brush, roller, and pan. Washed everything and etched it with white vinegar and sprayed it with etching primer. Did the bed in the bed liner, and the stacks with high heat bbq grill gloss black. On another note: the mail lady just dropped off another thing ive been waiting on, red shackles! Lol

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Oh, I saw your earlier post with that product. I should have been more specific, I thought maybe you had used some sort of rubber matting for the floor after you had used the bed liner paint on the whole box. Hopefully those shackles are powder coated. So on the snorkel, are you talking about using PVC and painting it black, or using ABS?

 

[Bastardchild]

Monte i just used 2" white pvc water pipe and a couple of 2" 90° elbows. I cut a short piece of 2" pipe about 3 or 4 inches long and stuffed that in the rubber elbow that comes stock on the top of the airbox. Put a 90 on it right outside the box and ran a short piece of pipe forward, then put the other 90 on and ran another piece of pipe out of that 90 straight to the bottom of the intake stack. That piece of pipe went into that red high heat silicon 90 that i got from ebay. That 90 is 3" on one outlet for the stack, and 2.5" on the other end. The outside diameter of 2" pvc is almost 2.5" so it worked out good when i put the hose clamp around the 2.5" side and tightened it up. I did have to buy a heat gun and i heated up a small part of the drivers rear fender and pushed it in a little so the piece of pipe can have a straight shot at coming into the red 90. You cant see it from the outside, you would have to look under the wheel well to see it, and about 5 minutes after i start riding it there is mud in the fender wells anyway so it will never be seen lol. I was wanting to go with black pvc but couldnt find any locally, but its all under the bed and cant be seen anyway so im not worried. It runs better now also that i did away with the shop vac hose and completed the intake to the stack. It fires right up faster it seems. It seemed like with the shop vac hose it cranked over a second or 2 longer before it started.

 

[Montecresto]

Monte i just used 2" white pvc water pipe and a couple of 2" 90° elbows. I cut a short piece of 2" pipe about 3 or 4 inches long and stuffed that in the rubber elbow that comes stock on the top of the airbox. Put a 90 on it right outside the box and ran a short piece of pipe forward, then put the other 90 on and ran another piece of pipe out of that 90 straight to the bottom of the intake stack. That piece of pipe went into that red high heat silicon 90 that i got from ebay. That 90 is 3" on one outlet for the stack, and 2.5" on the other end. The outside diameter of 2" pvc is almost 2.5" so it worked out good when i put the hose clamp around the 2.5" side and tightened it up. I did have to buy a heat gun and i heated up a small part of the drivers rear fender and pushed it in a little so the piece of pipe can have a straight shot at coming into the red 90. You cant see it from the outside, you would have to look under the wheel well to see it, and about 5 minutes after i start riding it there is mud in the fender wells anyway so it will never be seen lol. I was wanting to go with black pvc but couldnt find any locally, but its all under the bed and cant be seen anyway so im not worried. It runs better now also that i did away with the shop vac hose and completed the intake to the stack. It fires right up faster it seems. It seemed like with the shop vac hose it cranked over a second or 2 longer before it started.

So I don't mean to be difficult, I'm just seeking clarity. I'm not aware of any black PVC, if there is such a thing, it's new to me. I'm thinking that you're referring to ABS, which is what the industry uses on mobile homes and RV's. But back to what you used, you said PVC water pipe, do you actually mean water pipe with tight 90's, or sewer and drain with swoop 90's? Thanks

 

[Alan aka Davinci]

Well its been a while since i updated this. I had a sticker made for the back of my cooler a few days ago. I got out here on my day off and put the sticker on my cooler and actually started taking measurments and cutting pipe to connect my muffler to the exhaust stack when the ups truck pulled up in the yard. He had a kinetic snatch rope that i ordered from amazon 2 days ago. I wasnt expecting it for another week! Thats perfect because we're going camping at hogwaller in palatka, fl. next weekend, the 17th, 18th, and 19th of feb. Yall know i ordered it to match! Red and black, lol! Its 7/8" × 30' and rated at 28,600 lbs. I think it should do. Hehe. Sooooo, i think i might lay off on the muffler stack build and start on the snatch rope holder thingy that goes in the bed build! Lol Heres a few pics for yall.

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I don't care who you are....that cooler decal is funny!!!

 

[Bastardchild]

Monte, you actually just taught me something. I have always called the black ABS pipe, black PVC lol. Yes you are correct, the pipe used under mobile homes for drainage. Thats what i was looking for, and just used 2" white pvc instead, with the intentions of painting it black. However, when it was all said and done, you cant see it anyway, so im leaving it white. Also, it was the tight 2" 90° bends, not the swoops.
Alan, im glad you like the sticker! I just wanted people to get a chuckle from it. I actually came across it on the internet one night researching some project or something, it was a guys screenname on some 4x4 website or something. I started cracking up when i read it and thought to myself it would be a funny sticker to have made, so i went to the sticker shop in gainesville that made my boat decals and numbers and had them make the sticker for me. Glad you like! Its kinda fitting also that its on the cooler that holds adult beverages lol!

 

[Bastardchild]

Well i got a few updates. I got the snatch rope holder thingy built and installed in the bed. Also, i made some progress on the pipework that goes to the exhaust stack. I welded a disc in the bottom of the exhaust stack and made a hole in it big enough for the aluminum pipe to fit into. The aluminum tubing is from some old street light arms i got out of the dumpster at work lol. I swear, i get so much cool stuff from the metal dumpsters at work. Lol I cut a few arms up and used the curved parts out of them to get the bends i needed to get it headed towards the back of the sxs. Anyway, blah, blah, blah, heres some pics.